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Equal Exchange Joins Critique of Fair Trade Plantations

Equal Exchange Joins Critique of Fair Trade Plantations

Published 01-14-09

Submitted by Equal Exchange

WEST BRIDGEWATER, MA - January 13, 2009 - A recent article in The Times (London, UK), "Tea workers still waiting to reap Fairtrade benefits", reveals the contradictions the Fair Trade system has brought upon itself by embracing large scale plantations into a structure originally created to benefit small scale farmers in the developing world. In the Times article tea workers in Kenya claim to have been denied the promised benefits of Fair Trade and "suspect that the scheme is being used to make estates appear socially responsible as demand increases in the West for Fairtrade-labelled goods."

"We are not surprised to hear of these shortcomings and abuses occurring on Fair Trade plantations," said Rink Dickinson, President and co-founder of Equal Exchange. "In fact," he added, "the findings presented in this article only serve to reaffirm our belief that plantations do not belong in the Fair Trade system in the first place."

Equal Exchange does not debate whether "good" plantations exist where, for example, workers receive better-than-average treatment, nor whether estate workers deserve to enjoy better working conditions. They do.

Rather, since its founding in 1986, Equal Exchange has held to the belief that the very nature of plantations is antithetical to the goals of Fair Trade, namely:

  • to strengthen the autonomy of small farmer organizations;
  • build a sense of ownership and control over one’s business;
  • encourage entrepreneurial attitudes and a risk-taking culture;
  • strengthen and build community;
  • and practice and strengthen debate and participatory decision-making.

    The company believes that "Fair Trade" needs to mean "small farmer", and that the standards which apply to Fair Trade coffee can and should be the sole standard in tea as well as coffee.

    Fair Trade has achieved dramatic results in building market access for small-scale farmers who would otherwise not have the means to invest in their business and take the necessary risks to establish markets in their own countries "“ let alone in the global arena. This preferential market access has been very powerful in building a link between consumers in the North and marginalized small farmers in the Global South. The multiplier effect of this market access and network of Fair Traders has had huge impact on small farmer communities.

    Equal Exchange is committed to building market access for small farmer tea organizations just as they have in the coffee and cocoa industries. Contrary to other Fair Trade importers they currently purchase "small farmer tea" from groups in India, Sri Lanka and South Africa.

    Equal Exchange believes that plantations, unlike small farmer organizations, do not need help to gain market access. In the U.S. 98% of the tea that is sold as Fair Trade comes from plantations. Plantation owners have networks within the banking, government and export sectors of their countries. One could argue that there is almost no additional economic or social benefit deriving from Fair Trade plantation products. The Times investigation supports this critique.

    Further, plantations or "estates" as they are often called, have been accused for decades of exploiting workers. Having changed little in a century, they tend to be run as small kingdoms. For these and other reasons, the role of tea plantations in Fair Trade has been controversial from the first days of the Fair Trade movement. Historically, the first two Fair Trade certifying agencies, Max Havelaar (of the Netherlands) and Transfair (Germany) were locked in fundamental battle about whether plantation tea could ever really be "Fair Trade." This was the core reason that the two organizations could not join forces. When they finally did merge in 1997 Transfair's vision of a Fair Trade system, which included virtually all models of farm production, won out and tea plantations were allowed into the system.

    Equal Exchange and others believe that no matter how "benevolent" a plantation owner is, a joint labor-management council and social premiums cannot in and of themselves correct the huge imbalance of power that exists on a plantation. They do not believe the deep, structural goals oriented to change the playing field for small farmers can be achieved in a plantation setting.

    About Equal Exchange:

    A pioneer and U.S. market leader in Fair Trade since 1986, Equal Exchange is a full service provider of high quality, organic coffee, tea, chocolate and healthy snacks to retailers and food service establishments. Major customers include hundreds of consumer food cooperatives nationwide, supermarkets such as Shaw's, Whole Foods, and Hannaford, as well as Ten Thousand Villages, restaurants, and thousands of places of worship nationwide. 100% of Equal Exchange products are fairly traded, benefiting more than 40 small farmer co-operatives in 22 countries around the world.

  • Equal Exchange logo

    Equal Exchange

    Equal Exchange

    Equal Exchange, founded in 1986, is the worker-owned and governed co-operative who pioneered the Fair Trade concept in the U.S. coffee industry. They have since successfully expanded their Fair Trade program into the tea, cocoa, chocolate, sugar and healthy snack categories. Equal Exchange products are sold and served in thousands of locations nationwide, including supermarkets, natural food stores, cafés, and places of worship. Overall they now trade with 40 small-farmer co-operatives around the world, including 2 in the United States. With $25 million in annual sales, and 100+ employees, Equal Exchange has grown to be the nation's sixth largest worker co-op. It is their mission to continue to grow the Fair Trade market, and to demonstrate the contributions and viability of democratic worker co-operatives.

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